What do you know; I don’t have a vaguely relevant anecdote with which to flesh out of the description of this album. It’s a very scary thought, but I’ll have to speak purely about the band and their music; wish me luck. The band in question is Mates of State, a husband-wife duo out of America. While they may only have 2 members, it in no way means their music lacks depth. They are able to achieve this through the frequent and clever use of male-female harmonies. Barely a moment goes when their vocals aren’t complementing each other. This could simply be by singing together to create a richer sound or using backing vocals to flesh out a melody. But where they really shine is in their contrasting harmonies. By singing two different melodies simultaneously, they manage to create complex, expansive compositions that sound very similar to a choir singing a medley. For just two people to be able to produce this effect is very impressive. While vocals are clearly the highlight of their music, it also features a staple of keyboard and drums which are always solid, allowing the spotlight to remain on the vocals. While I probably wouldn’t call this album brilliant, it does have some great songs and an incredibly interesting sound.

Fraud In The 80s – My favourite songs on this album (this one included) are the ones where the keyboard is prominent. This is not only because it can bust out some very funky riffs but also because it seems to add strength to vocals.

For The Actor – After going on about the contrasting harmonies, I’m picking songs that don’t really showcase it. This one kind of does but I picked more for it’s pace and rhythm which are sure to get you going.

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